NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST FOUR

March 15, 2023

Tobin Anderson

Demetre Roberts

Grant Singleton

Ansley Almonor

Joe Munden

UD Arena

Fairleigh Dickinson Knights

Media Conference

Fairleigh Dickinson 84, Texas Southern 61

THE MODERATOR: Coach, if you could, what this win means for your program and the fight from your club here tonight.

TOBIN ANDERSON: Yeah, I mean, we played really well, obviously. Not surprised. We've had a really good year. Just proud as heck of our guys. You couldn't be more proud, more excited for them. And to come on to this stage and this environment in a big game and play really well -- we played really well.

We guarded -- we haven't been a great defensive team all year long. We played really good defense. Our press got us the lead, our press got us going and our half court defense was excellent. We shared the ball, played unselfish. A lot of guys -- assists and made extra passes and did the right thing. Honestly, that was least coaching I've done. I must say, when you play that well, life is pretty easy. I thought we played very, very well.

Credit to Texas Southern. We knew how good Texas Southern was. We knew they'd been here before. I thought a big key for us was we kept them off the boards. Only had 10 offensive rebounds. They're a team that kills you on the offensive back boards. So we talked to the team before the game about try to be 10 or less. And they got 10 which was pretty good.

Happy for our school, happy for our program, our players, our families. Had a great group of fans tonight out here tonight. FDU represented very well tonight. We are ecstatic for what we've done here. I love these guys here, I wouldn't trade -- we have four guys up here that are about as good as anybody as far as just great kids and great people. Proud of them, happy for them.

We're going to enjoy this one and move on -- survive and advance, that's what we're doing.

Q. You were able to hold Texas Southern to one three-pointer all game long and that didn't come until late in the game when it was pretty much -- the outcome wasn't in doubt. What did you see in terms of the defense that you were able to make them put up three-pointers that maybe they weren't comfortable taking?

DEMETRE ROBERTS: That's just the way we play. Obviously they're a good team that likes to draw the ball. Our goal for the game was keep them out of the paint, so I think we did that today.

Q. Demetre and Grant, I know that Tobin, I think, said yesterday that you guys wanted to throw the first punch. You went up 14-2. Can you describe what that early run was like and if you felt like you had them on the back foot for the rest of the game from there?

GRANT SINGLETON: Yeah, that's what we really mainly focused on is our game plan. They're a really good team. It's whoever really throws the first punch. With them being longer and athletic, we didn't want to let them get a good run going. We wanted to establish our position on the floor.

DEMETRE ROBERTS: Like Grant just touched on, we're the shortest team in Division I so we've got to make an impact in some way. I think when we throw the first punch, there's a good outcome for us, so we've got to just keep on doing that.

Q. What does it mean representing the state of New Jersey, and what's your feeling on Purdue on Friday?

ANSLEY ALMONOR: Yeah, well, we take a lot of pride in playing for Jersey. There's only two teams in the tournament, so we knew that coming into here, so we wanted to make sure we got a win and put on for the state, because basketball is really big in our area. And yeah, Friday we've got Purdue and just taking that one step at a time.

Q. Demetre and Grant, you guys have had success in the postseason before. What was your level of curiosity in terms of this stage, how you and your teammates would perform here on this stage in the Division I level?

DEMETRE ROBERTS: Well, obviously it's our first time being here -- well, everybody's first time. We just had to get the butterflies out first. Once we got that out by throwing the first punch in the first couple minutes of the first half, everything else played out itself. But it's an honor to be here. Just take it day by day.

GRANT SINGLETON: Yeah, once you get the butterflies out, you get used to the stage, coach was telling us to have fun. It's fun being out there, fun playing in a crowd like that with a team that's so good. We just wanted to get the butterflies out and keep playing.

Q. Grant, you mentioned the butterflies, getting them out. Certainly having a game under your belt I would think is a benefit going in to play a team like No. 1 seed Purdue. Can you talk about why a night like tonight is so valuable going into an opponent like that?

GRANT SINGLETON: Yeah, it's important because we're playing on this big stage, and we're knowing what it is and how we can throw the first punch and really how we can compete on this stage.

I feel like we can compete with anybody, knowing that we played such a tough team tonight. If we game plan like we did tonight, it will be easier for us going forward.

Q. Ansley, I believe you're one of the tallest guys on the roster. Have you ever met a human being who's 7'4", and how do you guard a guy who's 10 inches taller and 85 pounds heavier than you?

ANSLEY ALMONOR: No, I never met anybody who was 7'4". I tried to see it -- tried to get into his legs a little bit, because tall guys don't like when people get into their legs. So I'll just take it one step at a time. We're going to scout him and go from there.

Q. Along that same line, you guys are accustomed to playing against taller teams and doing well. How important is all that experience going to be when you play against a team that's taller -- not only taller but has a 7'4" center?

JOE MUNDEN, JR: I think it's very important that we have a lot of experience, because without the experience and if you just go into it blind, you don't know what to expect. But being that we have a little bit of knowledge under our belt and we know what to expect, if we go out there, we can compete.

Q. Joe, last year you guys win four games. If I told you you'd be sitting here having advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, what would you have said back then?

JOE MUNDEN, JR: I wouldn't have believed you. But I just think that's a testament to Coach and how much we believe in Coach and these three guys sitting beside me. We came in from day one and we gelled together, and we're doing pretty well.

Q. Ansley, for you, you hit those threes early; how much did that open up the offense do you think?

ANSLEY ALMONOR: Well, yeah, hitting my first two, I felt like that helped my confidence a little. And defense started to realize that they had to change what they was doing because I seen that some of my movements, some of the screens I was using they were getting confused on it. And in the second half they made an adjustment, but that adjustment wasn't that good because I was getting even more open.

Q. Can you put into words this last 10 months here and what you're staring at now, what you did tonight and what you have in front of you on Friday?

TOBIN ANDERSON: Yeah, it's hard to put into words. It really is. I told the guys there's not a postgame speech, not something I could say. It's just been an unbelievable ride. We never would have dreamed this 10 months ago.

I brought two guards, I brought Demetre and Grant with and then Sean Moore with me and all three guys with me. And Demetre and Grant, I think their postseason record now is 14-4 or 14-5 or something like that. So they're used to playing -- not on this stage, but they're used to playing NCAA games, Sweet Sixteen games. So I didn't think they'd be fazed and we weren't.

We looked like we belonged from the get-go. I know Joe and Ansley and all the guys who stayed, those guys, they worked, they got better, they bought in. No one would have dreamt this. Four games -- I'd like to know in the tournament who won the least amount of games last year and got to the tournament. From 4-20 and 20 wins to a first-round NCAA win is remarkable. It's not one thing, it's the administration, it's the school, it's the support.

I've got a little bit of a chip on my shoulder because articles written like FDU shouldn't be Division I and how committed are they and stuff like that. And all it takes is a bunch of guys who believe, and these guys believe. They wanted to be great. They wanted to do special things, and we've done that.

You know, I think tonight I was just coming along for the ride, honestly. They just played so well, I didn't really have to do a whole lot. I was almost amazed by how well we're playing. Texas Southern hung around made some shots, they made a couple plays here or there.

But we followed our game plan to a tee. The guys were locked in mentally, and just so proud and just so happy for everybody associated with FDU and a chance to move on. And it's been a special, special year. I've been a head coach -- I keep forgetting 21 or 22 years. When I was in Division II, we won a lot of games every year and everybody always kept saying that's great, but what's the next thing.

This year we're supposed to win six, seven, eight. I think Ken Pom numbers, our prediction was for seven wins. We put that stuff all over the locker room, too. Our guys are motivated, we put it up on the board.

So they have a chip on their shoulder. Very happy, very proud of what we did and what we accomplished and there's more to do. We will not go to the next round not ready to compete. You can tell Demetre and Grant and those guys they were here to compete. If they were playing a pickup game tomorrow morning at the local playground, they would compete.

Q. How important was it for you to bring in players who were used to winning, from wherever but obviously from your program to the current roster?

TOBIN ANDERSON: Yeah, you can't replicate that, right. Winning is a result of doing the right things, just all the things that go into winning. So much goes into winning, being on time, being a good student, going to class. I've told people this is the lowest maintenance team I've ever had before. We have no issues. Off the court issues, we have no issues. None.

I'm going to say that right now. Maybe our guys will go downtown Dayton tonight. Actually we're leaving so it shouldn't be a problem.

Yeah, they're just great kids, they really are. Grant and Demetre know how to win in big situations. I don't say a lot to them before the game. Just let's go do what we do. When I look in Demetre's eyes and I seen them glazed over I feel pretty good about what's going to happen. His eyes were glazed, he wanted to go play tonight. He looks around, he thinks he should be here. That's just how he is. This is not a surprise to him.

When you're a 5'8" guard who's been told all your life that you're not big enough, there's just a huge -- from Mount Vernon, New York, growing up that way, you see guys go to Division I, and you don't think Demetre Roberts is a mid-major Division I guard? He's a tremendous guard. I wouldn't trade him for anybody.

Yeah, those two guys really helped us a lot, obviously.

Q. Have you had a chance to watch Edey so much this season, just as a basketball guy? When you watch him, what do you think?

TOBIN ANDERSON: Yeah, I'm an Iowa guy, grew up in the Midwest. I'm a Big Ten Iowa basketball, I've watched Purdue play. I think Matt Painter is one of the best coaches anywhere. He's incredible. We run a motion offense. A lot of stuff we get is from Purdue, how they play. Yeah, I've seen them play a lot as a fan.

Well, not a fan, more of an observer. I don't want to say fan. Fan is not the right word.

But he's a special guy because he's not just a big guy, he can play, got great hands. He knows how to play. It's going to be a tall, tall task for us on Friday night.

But like I said, our guys will compete. We're going to do what we do. We're going to go press them. We're going to guard the heck out of them if we can. Be hard to guard -- he's got to guard Ansley, our 5 man who can shoot a little bit, and try to create problems for them. But they're a special team, great coach, unbelievable program, tremendous respect for them. Love watching them play, but we're going to go try to -- let's play on Friday night.

Q. Sean Moore, he grew up just about an hour or so from over in the Columbus area, a chance for him to play in his home state. I don't think he missed a shot, 10 points, and now he's going to have a chance to go back and play in his hometown. Was that ever addressed, the possibility of that over the last few days leading up to tonight?

TOBIN ANDERSON: Yeah, Sean is a very loyal Ohioan. He loves Columbus, talked about his hometown all the time. So going back home was a major -- he talked about it all the time. We all talked about it too, getting him home.

I love Sean. Sean has been tremendous. The last month or so of the season he's been one of our best players and does a little bit of everything. And it's great to bring him home. Got a bunch of people there. Yeah, we talked a lot about getting back to Columbus and getting him back home.

Q. Coach, a lot of the recent Division I hires have been the usual route of promoting D-I assistants like Adrian Autry at Syracuse or Charlie Henry from Alabama. Do you think this sends a message to athletic departments around the country to start looking at D-II and D-III because you guys can coach as well as anybody?

TOBIN ANDERSON: I'd love to answer that question honestly and not be political because I do feel there's a tremendous amount of coaches at the Division II and Division III level who have built programs, who have won, who know how to coach, recruit, do things the right way. I've seen them, I've coached against, they've beat me.

So yeah, absolutely. People are talking about going Division I. I was a Division I assistant for two years, and being a head coach is such a better -- in my opinion, a better training ground for your next job, for the next thing that's going to happen. You're ready to step in on day one, which a lot of guys have to figure out. It takes them three or four years to figure it out. By that time, they fire you.

Yeah, I love to be -- there's a lot of guys out there, Division II coaches, doing very well, and if I can help trend at all, I'd be very proud of that because there's a lot of guys who deserve that opportunity.

I was told for years for a number of times go back to being a Division I assistant. ADs told me we will not hire a Division II coach, flat out said we won't hire a Division II because our alums won't support it. That's frustrating. Quite frankly it's frustrating.

Yeah, I'd like to -- if I ever retire from this -- I'm actually going to coach until I'm 85 -- but if I ever get another job, I'd like to start a search firm because I could find about 10 or 12 small college coaches who could do just as good a job as we've done here. Not just me, I've got a great staff. I brought two assistants from Stack with me, two great guys, Tom Bonacum and Kam Murrell, hired Jack Castleberry, have a great support staff.

So it's a lot of people that go into this. It's not just me. Those guys do a heck of a job. And listen, they're all small college guys, too. They're all Division III and Division II guys. We're walking out, like this is a first for all of us. But we're prepared, and it's been a lot of fun. It's been a lot of fun, and we're proud of what we've done.

I'd like to add to that, I just want to thank my -- the administration of FDU, Brad Hurlbut, my athletic director, and Jason Young, the associate athletic director, but a lot of other people, too, to take a chance on me. I really appreciate that. A lot of guys say no, and that means a lot to me. That's very special for that to happen.

I would be remiss not to acknowledge that and thank them for doing that.